腰椎 (yāo zhuī) — lumbar vertebra

Definition

noun
lumbar vertebra
Measure word · 节

Examples

  • 4腰椎。
    Yī shēng shuō wǒ dì 4 jié yāo zhuī yǒu qīng wēi gǔ zhé.
    The doctor said my fourth lumbar vertebra has a minor fracture.
  • 腰椎。
    Cháng qī jiǔ zuò róng yì dǎo zhì yāo zhuī láo sǔn.
    Sitting for long periods can easily cause lumbar strain.
  • 腰椎。
    Tā gōng zuò shí zài yǐ zi hòu miàn fàng le yí gè kào diàn lái zhī chēng yāo zhuī.
    She put a cushion behind her chair to support her lumbar vertebrae during work.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

腰yāowaist
椎zhuīvertebra

腰 names the waist and 椎 names the vertebra, together giving the lumbar vertebra.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
⺼Written in full as肉ròuflesh
Sound part声符shēngfú
要
要yào腰yāo
Same sound today

The left part ⺼ is flesh; the right part 要 gives the sound.

Open 腰 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
木木mùtree
Sound part声符shēngfú
隹
隹zhuī椎zhuī
Same sound today

椎 combines 木 (tree) with 隹, which gives the sound zhuī; the idea is a piece of wood used to smash things, a hammer or mallet.

Open 椎 →
Appears in

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